Everquest Next - Preview @ IGN

September 4th, 2013, 05:37

IGN has a new preview for Everquest Next that asks what is the landmark system.

When EverQuest Next Landmark launches later this year, Sony Online Entertainment intends for it to function as both a precursor to EverQuest Next and viable MMO experience in its own right. With its strong sandbox overtones, Landmark’s purpose is to introduce players to the EverQuest Next experience while encouraging them to play an active part in shaping its future.

“MMOs have basically been the same for the past 15 years,” states EverQuest Next senior producer Terry Michaels. “They've been polished and improved on some things but really the core game hasn't changed much, so we wanted to create something new.”

Michaels goes on to explain that Landmark’s origins are found in the building blocks (or “Voxels”) of EverQuest Next and the tools used to sculpt its worlds. Having established that the process of terrain deformation is a fun one, the development team set about creating an entire experience around it and so EverQuest Next Landmark was born.

They wanna create something new. An MMORPG for soloists too stupid to handle anything remotely challenging or massively multiplayer. Oh wait, that's what all MMORPGs have been since the original biggies that are still going and still sub-based, unlike all the failures that've come after WoW.

EQN is launching F2P, which is just planning to be garbage, since F2P is garbage. Only losers want to pay to win.

I'm tired of people who love group requirements in MMOs acting like it's a system for superior players. It tends to be a royal pain to find a regular group of competent players who play at the same pace for anything except endgame content. If everyone was as good as they seem to think they are, there'd be very little difference between top raiding guilds and the average raiding guild.

In games using the trinity system, there's always a disparity DPS to Healers and especially Tanks. Not to mention, in games where grouping is optional, it's far faster to level solo unless you've found the aforementioned group. I have a friend who levels in groups in every MMO we've played, and he's never once hit level cap less than 2 weeks after me. Random groups carry the inherit risk of players that need to be carried, don't know fights, can't dodge mechanics.

Allowing groups to be optional, the developer gets to greatly increase the audience which means more income which, hopefully, means better & more content for everyone.

Originally Posted by greywolf00
I'm tired of people who love group requirements in MMOs acting like it's a system for superior players. It tends to be a royal pain to find a regular group of competent players who play at the same pace for anything except endgame content. If everyone was as good as they seem to think they are, there'd be very little difference between top raiding guilds and the average raiding guild.

In games using the trinity system, there's always a disparity DPS to Healers and especially Tanks. Not to mention, in games where grouping is optional, it's far faster to level solo unless you've found the aforementioned group. I have a friend who levels in groups in every MMO we've played, and he's never once hit level cap less than 2 weeks after me. Random groups carry the inherit risk of players that need to be carried, don't know fights, can't dodge mechanics.

Allowing groups to be optional, the developer gets to greatly increase the audience which means more income which, hopefully, means better & more content for everyone.

There's nothing wrong with that, except that it's what every single MMO has done in the last 20 years or so. All we (group required people) want is for one MMO to go back to the origins, and I thought it was going to be EQ Next, I was so very clearly wrong. Is that too much to ask?

Originally Posted by wolfing
There's nothing wrong with that, except that it's what every single MMO has done in the last 20 years or so. All we (group required people) want is for one MMO to go back to the origins, and I thought it was going to be EQ Next, I was so very clearly wrong. Is that too much to ask?

Origin? Asheron's Call and Ultimate Online shipped without grouping mechanics. Took a few years before they were included. Only EQ forced people to group to level up..and countless of Asians grinders.

With all of the layoffs at SoE last week, I'm sure this game will be delayed even further. It is quite difficult to get excited about something new coming down the pipe when the company starts laying people off left and right.

I too hoped this game would be more like EQ1 than anything else, but for some reason it looks like the glory days of mmo's are far behind us. Too bad and very very sad.

Originally Posted by Carnifex
With all of the layoffs at SoE last week, I'm sure this game will be delayed even further. It is quite difficult to get excited about something new coming down the pipe when the company starts laying people off left and right.

I too hoped this game would be more like EQ1 than anything else, but for some reason it looks like the glory days of mmo's are far behind us. Too bad and very very sad.

Just FYI, this is a case of news sensationalism. If I bring in a temp contract worker and then release him into the wild, is that a layoff?
If I hire 4 artists for Project X and then move them to Project G, is that a layoff?
Most of this tripe comes from sites that feel the need to update every 30 minutes with "news" in an industry that doesn't create a lot of news.

That may be true, but I've played EQ since 1998, and know two of the people that were laid off last week. You can consider anything I say regarding SoE and/or EQ as factual, or I wouldn't say it. I have no idea what you mean about "tripe", but, rest assured that none of the people that were laid off consider it trivial, nor do most of the current players. The two people that I know had both been at SoE for 5+yrs.

It really depends on where the lay offs are. There might be several older MMOs which are probably winding back or getting close to closing down. Everquest Next is a key strategic element, with timing playing a specific role for the release of information and release.